The Highwayman
by Sierra Armunn
Summary: there is a highwayman on the loose in the wizarding world... harry is in some way connected, but how? HxD slash


_This is just a one-shot for now. I may make it into a longer story later after I've finished my other ones. It's that this idea has been bugging me for a while and I just had to write it. I hope you enjoy! And tell me what you think!_

_**Highwayman Still At Large!**_

_It has been reported that the highwayman has still been terrorizing the magical highways around Hogsmeade! Everyone is advised to exert caution when traveling on the highways. The highwayman's attacks started in June…_

Harry stopped reading the Prophet and put it down on the table beside him. He let a small, unnoticeable smirk don his lips. He then turned to Hermione, whom was sitting besides him. He gained a look of slight puzzlement. "Hey, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up from her reading. She put down her fork also. "Yes, Harry?"

"The Prophet mentions a highwayman. The Wizarding world still has them?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. As you know the Wizarding world has its own highways where goods pass along and the wealthy ride in carriages. Highwaymen are rare, but still in existence. The Wizarding world's highwaymen are similar to those of muggle ones in the 17th and 18th centuries."

"How similar?" Harry was asking for as much as Hermione knew.

"Almost exactly the same; period clothing, masks, the like. They even carry pistols, though they are charmed with everlasting ammunition. They only difference is that the Wizarding world's highwaymen carry wands. You wouldn't want to duel with them either. They are known to be notorious duelists."

Harry nodded in thanks. He then asked, "What are you doing this weekend? You attending the Halloween Ball?"

Hermione nodded, "It's required remember?"

Harry laughed, "Oh, yeah. I forgot. What are you wearing?"

Hermione made to respond but then the Headmaster stood up and called for the school's attention. "As you all know, at the end of the week is the Halloween Ball. This ball will be a costume ball as well. And to make sure that everyone wears a costume and no one will feel left out if they can't find a costume, the teachers and I have taken the liberty of getting costumes for you. They were all randomly picked. You will find your costumes waiting on your beds in your dormitories. That is all. Now all of you must go to class, lest you be late."

Harry joined Ron and Hermione as they left for DADA. All were wondering what their costume would be. Harry did not really like the idea of randomly picked and that he could not pick what he wanted to wear on his own. Oh, well. He sighed as he listened to Binn's lecture about the history of highwaymen. What would you know? An interesting lecture for once. Harry listened with apparent rapt attention.

Soon enough it was dinner. Harry sat tiredly in his seat. Hermione gazed at him. "You look exhausted, Harry! Have you not been sleeping?"

Harry smiled at her in reassurance. "I'm fine, Hermione. A little trouble sleeping, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. I'll take a sleeping potion."

Hermione did not look completely reassured but let it pass. Harry turned to Ron and started up a conversation about Quidditch tactics.

Harry slowly ate his dinner, with Ron, as always, eating twice or thrice the amount Harry was eating. When the trio was done eating they all stood up to return to the dormitories. Malfoy stopped them in the doorway. Harry smiled secretly. "There something you want, Malfoy?"

Malfoy gave them all a haughty look. "You three should be thankful that the Headmaster is being so generous. You three will actually have costumes!"

Ron growled and took a step forward. Harry put his arm out to stop him. "No, Ron. Let Malfoy have his laugh. We'll have the last laugh anyways."

Malfoy looked at him strangely as Ron stepped down. Malfoy then swept away with a scowl. Ron turned to Harry. "What was that about?"

Harry grinned. "Gave him something to think about."

Ron shrugged. "Whatever you say, mate."

The Trio then walked their way up to their dormitories. Harry gave the password. "Veritas." And the three entered the common room. The three then parted to see what their costumes were. Ron and Harry climbed up the stairs quickly and then made their way to their beds. Ron got to his first and spotted a pile of clothes. Harry stopped to see what the costume would be. Ron quickly held it up. "A pirate! I'm to be a pirate! Cool."

Harry laughed and made his way to his own bed. He saw a pile of clothes with a tricorne on top. He picked up the hat. Could it be? He then spied a black cloth; he picked it up and saw it was a mask. He chuckled softly. Oh, the irony.

Ron looked up. "What you get, Harry? Something as cool as a pirate?"

Harry placed on the tricorne. He turned to Ron and gave a jesting bow. "Meet the highwayman of the Halloween Ball!"

Harry and Ron started laughing. They then placed their costumes in their trunks. They then headed down to the common room to do homework.

That night Harry lay awake in his bed waiting for the others to fall asleep. When he heard Ron and Neville's snoring and Dean and Seamus' soft measured breathing, he quickly and quietly rose. He opened a secret compartment in his trunk and took out several objects. He quickly changed his clothes and closed the trunk. He then placed a locking charm on his curtains so that they could not be opened. He then pulled out his invisibility cloak and placed it around his head and shoulders. He quietly slipped from the room and out of the castle where he then made his way into the Forbidden forest.

HHHHH

Draco was wandering about the castle grounds. It was a clear night out and he was unable to sleep. He knew it would be dawn in a few hours, but he did not care. He stopped and tilted his head to gaze at the almost full moon. He closed his eyes to listen to the night noises around him.

Suddenly he heard the thuds of footsteps behind him. He quickly spun around and drew his wand. Draco froze in shock. There, in front of him, stood the highwayman. Draco scowled "What do you want, bandit?"

The man chuckled and raised his hands up in peace. "I did not come here to rob you."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and why not?"

The highwayman stepped closer. Draco stood frozen in a little fear. The highwayman smiled, though Draco could not tell from the man's full-face mask. The man spoke. "I could not harm someone as beautiful as you, Dragon."

Draco's heart sped up a little. He knew he was gay, but he did not know this man. This was the highwayman for the Goddess' sake!

The highwayman touched Draco's cheek with a gloved hand. "You will be mine, Dragon."

The man then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Draco gazed off into the night in shock.

Harry quietly stepped into the dorm room. He quietly changed out of his clothes. He locked the items in the secret compartment of his trunk and unlocked his curtains. He then slipped in hoping for a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. It had been a beautiful night.

HHHHH

The days passed until it was Halloween. Harry and Ron were in their dormitory putting on their costumes. Ron was pulling on his boots and Harry was pulling his long black hair into a loose ponytail. The summer he had grown his hair out and had his eye sight corrected. Harry then wrapped the black mask around his face and tied it in place. He then placed on the black tricorne. He looked over himself in the full-length mirror. He wore brown deerskin breeches and black knee-high boots. He had a white shirt, white cravat, and a dark green waistcoat with silver buttons. Over this he wore a black coat with silver embroidery. He had strapped a rapier to his waist and a pistol was tucked into his belt. The school staff had been thorough with the costumes. He then pulled on black leather gloves.

Harry they turned to look at Ron. "How do I look?"

Ron looked up. "Very nice, mate!"

Harry bowed, grinning. "You as well."

Ron looked down at his costume. He wore faded black breeches and a dirty looking white shirt. He had worn brown boots and wore a red bandana over his head and a tricorne placed on top. He stuck a pistol in his belt, grinning. "These costumes are spectacular! Wonder what Hermione is? She never told us."

Harry nodded. "Well, come on then. Let's go find out!"

Ron laughed and walked out of the dormitory. Harry paused a moment to look out the window at the beckoning darkness. He sighed and followed Ron.

When he entered the common room, he stifled a laugh. Hermione's costume was a black cat suit. Harry was forcibly reminded of the polyjuice incident in his second year. Hermione herself seemed to remember it too if her look was anything to go by. The trio then proceeded to walk to the Great Hall for the ball.

When they entered they admired what had been done to the Hall. Live bats swooped through the air and very realistic skeletons hung from chains on the wall. The only light came from torches on the wall and the eerie glow of the full moon. The House tables had been removed and instead there were smaller table along the walls of the Hall. The trio found an empty table and sat down. Not soon after everyone was seated and dinner began. Harry spoke his order to his plate. Soon a piece of venison, some mashed potatoes, and a small loaf of bread appeared. A goblet of pumpkin juice appeared beside his plate.

Soon dinner was finished and the students stood up for dancing. Harry sat and watched the students dancing, twirling in the more formal dances. Hermione appeared after awhile. "Why aren't you dancing, Harry?"

Harry looked at her. "I have no partner."

"And why not?"

Harry smirked and stood up. He gave a little flourished bow. "Would you dance with me then, my good lady?"

Hermione gave a little laugh and accepted. Harry swept her expertly into a formal dance. Hermione gave a surprised arch of the eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't dance?"

Harry laughed lightly. "After many long hours of practice and many summer lessons, I have succeeded in becoming a fair dancer." Hermione laughed as Harry swept her around the floor.

At the end of the dance Harry bowed a little and walked away. Malfoy stopped him, "Well, look here. Potter can dance. And what's he wearing, but a highwayman's costume. Tis the very opposite of you I'm afraid."

Harry kept a calm and cool expression. He swept his eyes over Draco's costume. Draco was clad richly in brown boots, brown breeches, and royal blue tunic. A silver circlet sat on his brow. "A prince. How very fitting it is, Malfoy. Is there something you wanted, besides wasting my time?"

Malfoy gave him a strange look before sweeping away with an aristocratic flair.

The Ball passed none too quickly, and at the end of the night Harry was glad to go to bed.

HHHHH

The days passed quickly. The trio noticed that Draco suddenly started to receive gifts and letters everyday from an unknown source. One day Draco gave a small gasp. Several people turned to see what had happened. Draco proceeded to lift out a beautiful deep red rose. Hermione gasped. "It's an Everlasting Rose!"

Harry looked over at her with a furrowed brow. "What are they?"

Surprisingly, it was Ron that answered. "They're really expensive. They're real roses that never die. It's a pledge of love, a symbol. Malfoy must have a really rich suitor. Must be male though."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this. "And how do you figure that, Ron."

Ron shrugged. "It's rare for a woman to send her male lover an Everlasting Rose. Usually it's the other way around."

Hermione shook her head in amazement and turned back to her breakfast. Ron also returned to his breakfast. Harry returned to picking at his breakfast. Suddenly a raven landed in front of him with a black letter tied to its leg. Harry untied it cautiously. He noticed that Snape and many Slytherin students were watching him intently. He grimaced, a letter from Voldemort then. Harry pulled out his wand and tapped it with a whispered spell. He noticed a flicker of approval on Snape's face.

The spell revealed that there was nothing harmful in the letter. He raised an eyebrow. Voldemort just sending a regular letter to his nemesis, was that even possible? He then furrowed his brows. That is if it wasn't a letter for Harry Potter. He slowly opened the letter and read it so that those around him could not. He had been right. The letter hadn't been meant for Harry Potter. It was a recruitment letter for someone else. Harry wrote a reply back on the same paper as the letter. He then sent it back off with the raven. Hermione and Ron both turned to him. Ron spoke, "What was that, mate?"

Harry returned to meal but answered him nonetheless. "A letter from Voldemort, trying to recruit me. I refused him quite harshly."

Hermione was silent for a moment before exploding. "What!? You should have shown Professor Dumbledore!"

Hermione continued to yell at him, but Harry tuned her out.

Suddenly the castle's wards went off and a stab of pain went through Harry's scar. Harry quickly raised his occlumency shields and jumped to his feet. He shouted to Dumbledore, "It's Voldemort, sir! He's at the school's gate!"

Dumbledore immediately flew into action. He ordered all younger students back to their common rooms. All 6th and 7th years that wished to fight would stay behind. McGonagall rushed off to warn the Aurors and the Order.

Harry quickly transfigured his robes into better clothes for fighting. He wore black breeches and black boots. A black leather shirt covered his chest. He spelled his hair back into a loose ponytail. He then summoned some invisible items to him and secretly placed them on his person. Many people were staring at the change in Harry. He now exerted a powerful presence.

It was then that many people flooed into the Great Hall. Aurors and Order members crowded the Hall. Harry moved to stand at the massive doors of the Great Hall. "Listen up!" The Hall immediately quieted, wanting to know what the Boy-who-lived would say. "Voldemort is looking for a fight!" Many people flinched at the name. "So we shall bring him one! Destroy the Death Eaters lest they destroy you!" Harry suddenly gave a slightly feral grin that frightened his audience a slight amount. "But leave to me Voldemort. He is mine, I will destroy him myself!"

A great cry among the assembled group was heard. They then marched through the doors of the Great Hall and off to battle.

The battle was a bloody affair. Many were dying on either side of the battling forces. Fierce clashes were happening all over the field. Yet, all was halted when Voldemort and Harry met on the field. All wanted to watch the meeting of the two powers. Harry's hands and face were bloody, but the close observer could see that the blood wasn't his.

Harry held his wand loosely with red drenched fingers. He walked purposely toward Voldemort. Voldemort watched his approach with a feral grin and mad glowing red eyes. Harry in contrast was calm and cold of expression. He halted several feet in front of the other wizard. He spoke nothing, only gazing coldly at the man in front of him. Voldemort laughed madly. "Come to the hero's rescue, Potter?" Harry said nothing. "Come to sacrifice yourself have you? So noble, Potter, but it won't do you much good!" Voldemort laughed again.

It was then that Harry finally spoke. Coldly and smoothly he spoke words of engagement, "I, Harry James Potter, challenge Tom Marvolo Riddle to a Duel of Death."

Many of the wizards and witches around him gaped. A Duel of Death was the most deadly of duels, as the name suggests. Any magic was accepted, no limits were set, and the duel only ended when one of the combatants died.

Voldemort arched a hairless eyebrow. "The Duel of Death, Potter? Very well. I, Tom Marvolo Riddle," He sneered at the name, "accept Harry James Potter's challenge."

Black magic erupted from the two enemies and surrounded them in an arena. None could interfere, and the duelists couldn't leave until one was dead. Harry's grip on his wand tightened and he gave a small laugh. "You are a fool, Riddle. You have underestimated me."

Voldemort sneered and cast a spell, "_Expello_!"

Harry flicked his wand and the spell disappeared. There were a few gasps outside the arena. Harry cast a spell of his own, "_Affligo_!"

Voldemort immediately had to dodge the speeding purple spell. It hit the black barrier with a crackle. Many more surprised exclamations were heard from outside the barrier. Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Dark magic, Potter?"

Harry gazed at him coolly, "What's it to you?"

Voldemort chuckled, "Too bad I have to kill you, Potter you would have made a wonderful servant."

"You're a fool, Riddle, to think that you can kill me."

Voldemort growled and sprang into action.

Long minutes passed with the two enemies trading spells. Both carried minor injuries, both tiring. The crowd around the arena was watching with rapt attention. Suddenly, Harry hit Voldemort with a spell that knocked him backwards. He sprang up with a growl, but stopped short at the sight that greeted him. There was sudden silence everywhere. No one dared move or speak.

Harry took a step closer to Voldemort. "You are a fool, Riddle. I have told you that. A fool to duel with me, you underestimated me. I am not the honorable Golden Boy that you thought I was."

Voldemort growled and made to banish the object Harry held in his hand, but Harry was faster. A bang rang out through the silence and Voldemort staggered backwards. Several more shots rang out and blood seeped from Voldemort's robes. Harry then tucked the pistol back into the belt of his breeches. He then raised his wand again, "And to make sure that you stay dead this time, _ligo mortis_! To bind your soul to death."

The black barrier exploded outward, one of the duelists was dead. The Death Eaters immediately surrendered, not wanting to end up like their dead master. Ron and Hermione immediately ran up to him. He was bombarded with questions. "How did you learn to duel like that, Harry?!" "Dark magic?!" "Where did you get the pistol?!"

Harry ignored them and continued to walk away from his fallen enemy.

That night there was a celebration in the Great Hall. Harry stood off to the side, just watching. Snape came up to him. Harry greeted him with a nod of his head. "Good evening, Professor. Can I help you?"

Snape shook his head. "I just want to congratulate you. I also have to say that I am grudgingly impressed." Harry nodded in acceptance of the words. Snape spoke again, "I, too, have underestimated you it seems. Very Slytherin of you."

Harry chuckled. "The Sorting Hat would agree, then ask to plot with you to persuade me into changing Houses."

Snape gave a surprised arch of the brow. "You, in Slytherin?"

Harry nodded, "Aye, but I knew my parents were in Gryffindor and that's where people would expect me to be."

Snaps chuckled. "You are a true Slytherin then. Well done."

Harry nodded in thanks. Suddenly the doors of the Great Hall flew open and several Aurora marched in. the leader spoke up. "We apologize, Headmaster, for the intrusion, but it has come to our attention that one of your students has been in correspondence with the highwayman." Snape felt Harry stiffen beside him and frowned. The Auror continued, "We are here to arrest Draco Octavius Malfoy on the charge of harboring a known criminal. Arrest him, boys!"

Harry growled low in his throat and stepped forward. "STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Everyone froze. The Auror turned to him, "Mr. Potter, this man has been harboring a known-"

"I know the charge! You will not arrest him, however! I will not let you!"

Hermione and Ron were close to where he stood. "What are you doing, Harry? Malfoy deserves this!"

Harry marched up to Draco and wrapped his arms around his waist. He whispered in his ear, "Do you trust me, Dragon?"

Draco froze in surprise before melting into the strong body behind him. "Yes, I trust you."

Harry smiled, "Good." He then turned his face to the frozen Aurors. He spoke aloud, "You will not touch what is mine." Then, to cries of shock and dismay, Harry's clothes melted into clothes much richer and a full-face mask materialized on his face. He spoke again, "You shall not touch what belongs to me, the highwayman!" He and Draco then disappeared from the Hall in a swirl of shadow, leaving behind reigning chaos.

Harry and Draco reappeared in a richly decorated stone room, their thing appearing around them. Draco stayed wrapped in Harry's arms and spoke, "Where are we?"

Harry answered him, "My home. This is my true home, not the one that Dumbledore thought me at. You were surprised that it was me?" Draco nodded. "Do you care?"

Draco turned around in Harry's arms and looked up at the mask. He gently removed it and looked into the taller boy's eyes. He whispered out one word, "Never…" He then pulled Harry's head down and kissed his sweetly on the lips.

Harry smiled into the kiss. When they pulled apart he spoke, "I love you, my Dragon."

Draco paused slightly and then spoke, "And I now know that I love you, too. My highwayman." He then pulled Harry down for another, more passionate kiss.

Much later, when both men were laying in bed wrapped up in each other, Draco spoke up sleepily, "Why did you become a highwayman?"

Harry smiled down at him. "When I was younger the Dursely's, my relatives, kept me from ever owning anything. I had nothing to call my own. Then one day, after sneaking away to the library, I came upon a book about muggle highwaymen. It intrigued me, called out to me. Then, later, in the Wizarding world, I cam upon a book about highwaymen in our world! I came to know how that highwaymen are the world's best duelists. I knew that it would help me defeat Voldemort when he returned, that it would help me stay alive. Besides, the life of a highwayman made my blood rush with excitement. I needed the money, too. My parents only left me so much, and know that they know that I am the highwayman, they will seize my assets and use them." Harry paused. "How good are you with a rapier?"

Draco smiled, "Good enough."

Harry grinned, "I will tutor you then, in dueling and the use of a pistol. We shall become the most feared pair of highwaymen in all of the Wizarding world's history!"

Draco laughed and pulled down Harry for a kiss. "In the morning, love. You have tired me out."

Harry's smile softened and he lay down next to his Dragon to sleep. He gathered Draco into his arms and held him tightly to his chest. He smiled gently at the slumbering form of his lover. Yes, it could all wait for tomorrow. For now he would revel in that at last he had Draco for his and his only.


End file.
